Henry



1 be capable of economical separation.

siduum has been usually disposed of as fodis most easily and readily IUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY o. HUMPHREY, on NEW YORK, AssreNoR T FRANZ 0. MATTHIEN.

SEN, OF IRVINGTON, N. Y., AND WILLIAM A. WIEGHERS, OF NEV" YORK CITY.

PROCESS OF ECONOMICALLY OBTAINING STARCH AND GLUCOSE FROM CORN.

SPEGIEIGATIOIY forming part of Letters Patent No. 231,804, dated August31, 1880.

' Application filed February 19, 1880.

To all whom ttmay concern:

Be itknown that I, HENRY G. HUMPHREY, of the city and State of New York,IHLXG invented a certain Process of Economically Ob.-

taining Starch and Glucose from Corn, of

which the following is a specification.

It is the twofold object of my improvement to lessen the cost ofol*)tai-ning from corn its commercially valuable constituents, and toavoid the waste of a certain percentage of starch which has heretoforebeen left in the residuum resulting from the ordinary processes oftreating corn for the manufacture of starch, and which has been toosmall in quantity to This re der for cattle, and has been, comparativelyspeaking, a waste product.

The economy of my mode of treatment is the result, first, of the factthat I separate from the corn that proportion of starch whichobtainable, and, secondly, that I treat my residuum, which may beunusually rich in starchy matter, for the 2 5 manufac ure from it ofglucose or grape-sugar.

I have found that the ordinary residuum of starch-manuiacture contains,for every bushel of corn treated, an amount of starch capable ofconversion into from four to six pounds of glucose, of the average valueof, say, fourteen cents. It will therefore be seen that while I obtainfrom the corn under treatment that proportion of its starch which can hemost economically separated, Ialso avoid the usual waste of starchymatter in the residuum by converti n such starchy matter into glucose orgrape-sugar, which are commercially Valuable products.

The various steps of my method of treatment are as follows: Havingsoaked and,

pressed the corn, I wash the resultant mass with water, and then strainit, and thus separate a port-ion of the starchy matter of the corn,which I manufacture into starch by the usual methods. I now' have aresiduum consisting of the husks of the kernels and the re mainder ofthe starchy matter of the, H which I mix with wateracidulatedsrithoxalic or some other strong acid. I boil the mixture twohours, more or less, until conversion into glucose is indicated by theusual iodine test, p or, if desired, until conversion into sugar isindicated by the usual alcohol test. This boi'Z' ing may be done eitherin an open or closed vessel, and with the usual appliances for heat ingwith steam.

The proportion of the mixture may be, say,- one hundred pounds (more orless) of the re; siduum to fifty pounds of water, with two pounds ofoxalic or other acid.

After conversion the liquid portion of thq: mixture is separated byfiltration th rougllbag or by pressure, and in the usual" manner it thenneutralized, defecated, and filtered through bone-black, and thenevaporated to the density of, say, 42 Baum.

If the converted product be sugar, the liquid, after evaporation, isallowed to harden. and concrete into proper packages.

I claim as my invention- The herein-described process of obtainingstarch and glucose consecuti'velyfrom the same lot of corn, whichconsists in separatinga por tion only'of the starch and then treatingthe remainderof the corn by the ordinary methods for the' manufacture ofglucose, whereby a greater or less quantity of starch, as economdemands, is left in the corn, to be subsequent devoted to theproductionof glucose, as set forth.

HENRY O. HUMPH Y Witnesses:

M. L. ADAMS,

EDWD. PAYso

